Hi guys, I have a little predicament that popped up a few days ago. I got hit with a stupid little piece of adware, nothing major, but I had to restart in safe mode to get rid of it. After that, things more or less returned to normal, but everything has been acting "funny."
Most notably, my internet connection now goes out randomly (I've confirmed this is specific to my computer, as no other computer in the house has been doing this). At the same time this happened, a new connection appeared in Network Connections (I'm on Windows XP) entitled Internet Connection, or Internet Gateway.
I read up on it and it appears to cause trouble for a lot of people. The most common cure seems to be to get rid of it by going into Add/Remove Windows Components from the Control Panel, clicking Networking Services, and disabling it there. However, when I tried this, the Internet Gateway Detection program wasn't on the list. I have RIP listener, TCP/IP, and Plug & Play services. Nothing else. It wouldn't let me delete the connection out of Network Connections. I can disable it, but it seems to have no effect on my connection at all. Also, once I disable it, sometimes I can't re-enable it without restarting. It also doesn't always appear in the connection list; it'll disappear and then reappear again later.
Usually, I can start my computer, access one webpage, and then the Internet Gateway pops up, and my connection goes completely out. An attempt to repair the connection yields "Unable to purge DNS Resolver Cache," so I'm forced to disable and re-enable my actual LAN until the repair operation completes. I can then use the web as normal until it acts up again. Also, while I am connected, I will experience short spurts (anywhere from 1 to 15 seconds) of not having internet access. Another thing that happens a lot (I play online games) is that my browser willl get knocked out completely, while I just experience spikes of non-connectivity in-game. I'm on IE, although I'm starting to think I should get Firefox.
That's all the information I really know to share right now, so if anyone's familiar with such a problem, I could use all the help I can get.
Thanks.
Most notably, my internet connection now goes out randomly (I've confirmed this is specific to my computer, as no other computer in the house has been doing this). At the same time this happened, a new connection appeared in Network Connections (I'm on Windows XP) entitled Internet Connection, or Internet Gateway.
I read up on it and it appears to cause trouble for a lot of people. The most common cure seems to be to get rid of it by going into Add/Remove Windows Components from the Control Panel, clicking Networking Services, and disabling it there. However, when I tried this, the Internet Gateway Detection program wasn't on the list. I have RIP listener, TCP/IP, and Plug & Play services. Nothing else. It wouldn't let me delete the connection out of Network Connections. I can disable it, but it seems to have no effect on my connection at all. Also, once I disable it, sometimes I can't re-enable it without restarting. It also doesn't always appear in the connection list; it'll disappear and then reappear again later.
Usually, I can start my computer, access one webpage, and then the Internet Gateway pops up, and my connection goes completely out. An attempt to repair the connection yields "Unable to purge DNS Resolver Cache," so I'm forced to disable and re-enable my actual LAN until the repair operation completes. I can then use the web as normal until it acts up again. Also, while I am connected, I will experience short spurts (anywhere from 1 to 15 seconds) of not having internet access. Another thing that happens a lot (I play online games) is that my browser willl get knocked out completely, while I just experience spikes of non-connectivity in-game. I'm on IE, although I'm starting to think I should get Firefox.
That's all the information I really know to share right now, so if anyone's familiar with such a problem, I could use all the help I can get.
Thanks.